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A Memory of Demons
Book by Ambrose, David
305 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 7, 2020
It was fine. I mean, I only really got into it in the second half which I don't think is what a book is meant to do. Some aspects of it were quite... well, unnecessary .The idea of a thirteen year old, one that is quite, well, mature acting (not in a good way, think sick and sadistic) being in a nine year old's body and acting the same way they did when they were alive I did not like. I guess that was meant to add the the wrongness of how she died and the whole possession thing, but like, no thanks.
I went into it expecting more supernatural traits but it ended up being only really at the end. The characters were ok, but like they could have been more developed, especially Julia.
The ending probably was the best part, although some parts seemed quite out of the blue and over the top. It was interesting to read something where the hero didn't exactly win.
I went into it expecting more supernatural traits but it ended up being only really at the end. The characters were ok, but like they could have been more developed, especially Julia.
The ending probably was the best part, although some parts seemed quite out of the blue and over the top. It was interesting to read something where the hero didn't exactly win.
April 25, 2016
This is one of the rarest books I have ever come across. This is gripping from page one. Someone once quoted an author to me said, "A novel is like an affair, but a short story is like a kiss in the dark. It leaves too much to speculate". And this book is just. Chapters are extremely short, and each chapter is a short story, together it makes up a 62 chaptered novel. Each chapter is hardly 6-10 pages long, and each of them grips you by your throat and strangle. It has suspense and it horrifies every single cell of yours as you turn each page. I just finished it, and I probably need some time before I decide to pick up another book. Probably a kid book so I can manage a smile. The reincarnation and dreams covered in this book is creepy and I couldn't sleep properly for the days I was reading it, even in my dreams this book haunted me and I had my own conjectures to what might happen next, but all of them are proved wrong. A definite read for all those who think they're not freaked out by horror (like me because I have literally slept through movies like Conjuring and Exorcism because they were boring), and if you love suspense, you can't afford to miss this book. But I love the fact that book had a happy ending.
September 30, 2017
This story is told in four parts:
"Suspicion" is the first part of the story & it gives the background of how Tom overcomes his alcoholic & drug fuelled past & settles down to family life with wife Clare & daughter Julia. However, at an early age Julia begins to insist her name is Melanie & the couple are referred to a therapist named Brendan Hunt. Julia seems to improve but after some years the problem reoccurs worse than before & the couple discover that Melanie is a girl who disappeared around ten years ago, coincidentally at the time Tom had a meltdown. This discovery leads Tom to question his actions as on the night Melanie died he would seem to have been there, yet has no recollection of events - is he Melanie's killer?
"Confession" is where a SPOILER ALERT is needed. Go no further unless you want to know the killers id...
... because here the killer is revealed to be non-other than Julia's therapist, Brendan Hunt. His murderous past is explained by the killer himself, as well as his plans to implicate Tom for Melanie's death.
In "Judgement" it would seem that Hunt's plans to incriminate Tom have been successful.
Finally "Afterlife" moves the story on thirteen years & Julia is still trying to prove her fathers innocence.
Now while I liked the idea of this storyline it didn't quite come off. The story moved on quickly, too quickly at times which meant it lacked depth. The story hinges on the fact that you have to accept some fairly big coincidences, Tom just happening to be in the vicinity when Hunt killed Melanie being one, which in turn allows Melanie to "possess" (it did seem more of a possession than a reincarnation/past life thing to me) his daughter years later in order to seek vengeance on her killer.
To me it would have made more sense if Julia had been born as Melanie died but that's just my thoughts. As to the ending, I'm in two minds about it, half of me thinks " as if...." but the other is thinking, "well I didn't expect that..."
Overall a good concept & a reasonable read, though I would've liked more on the reincarnation angle but it did have one or two twists that I didn't see coming. I'd give this author another go anyhow :o)
"Suspicion" is the first part of the story & it gives the background of how Tom overcomes his alcoholic & drug fuelled past & settles down to family life with wife Clare & daughter Julia. However, at an early age Julia begins to insist her name is Melanie & the couple are referred to a therapist named Brendan Hunt. Julia seems to improve but after some years the problem reoccurs worse than before & the couple discover that Melanie is a girl who disappeared around ten years ago, coincidentally at the time Tom had a meltdown. This discovery leads Tom to question his actions as on the night Melanie died he would seem to have been there, yet has no recollection of events - is he Melanie's killer?
"Confession" is where a SPOILER ALERT is needed. Go no further unless you want to know the killers id...
... because here the killer is revealed to be non-other than Julia's therapist, Brendan Hunt. His murderous past is explained by the killer himself, as well as his plans to implicate Tom for Melanie's death.
In "Judgement" it would seem that Hunt's plans to incriminate Tom have been successful.
Finally "Afterlife" moves the story on thirteen years & Julia is still trying to prove her fathers innocence.
Now while I liked the idea of this storyline it didn't quite come off. The story moved on quickly, too quickly at times which meant it lacked depth. The story hinges on the fact that you have to accept some fairly big coincidences, Tom just happening to be in the vicinity when Hunt killed Melanie being one, which in turn allows Melanie to "possess" (it did seem more of a possession than a reincarnation/past life thing to me) his daughter years later in order to seek vengeance on her killer.
To me it would have made more sense if Julia had been born as Melanie died but that's just my thoughts. As to the ending, I'm in two minds about it, half of me thinks " as if...." but the other is thinking, "well I didn't expect that..."
Overall a good concept & a reasonable read, though I would've liked more on the reincarnation angle but it did have one or two twists that I didn't see coming. I'd give this author another go anyhow :o)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 23, 2020
COULDN'T BE MISSING
My brother bought me these three books ("A memory of demons", "Twisted" and "Coincidence") for Christmas, making me the most wonderful gift I could ask for - even though I blackmailed him, in a sense, but that's another story...
I have this tendency (more than a urge, actually) to try to read everything my favorite authors have written. Being David Ambrose one of the most excellent sci-fi writer, he couldn't be missing.
The first novel was extraordinary. It kept me glued to the pages since the beginning, enraptured by its thrilling premise and development. When part two (the confession, that is) started, it took me some time to understand who the evil character was. And, when I did, the discovery chilled me to the bone.
But that was not the end of it: what really left a mark on this breathtaking story were the paranormal elements, which continue to shock the reader until the very last chapters, catching him off guard as he never would have thought Ambrose had something more (and more sinister and jaw-dropping) in store for him. I literally loved it.
"Twisted" wasn't as spotless as "A memory of demons" (I felt like there were some plot holes), but quite enjoyable on the whole. The keys of its success were the short chapters, the frequent dialogues, the intriguing protagonists. Not to mention the culprit's identity, which came like a bolt from a blue and was even more surprising because the author threw me off the scent without even making use of the supernatural, masterfully diverting my gaze from the murderer.
"Coincidence", on the other hand, certainly didn't live up to the expectations raised by its predecessors. Despite being gripping enough to keep me of my toes most of the time, I found it unnecessarily philosophical, brimming with - and slowed by - tons of quotes about coincidences that sound all the same. Its ending was disappointing as well.
My brother bought me these three books ("A memory of demons", "Twisted" and "Coincidence") for Christmas, making me the most wonderful gift I could ask for - even though I blackmailed him, in a sense, but that's another story...
I have this tendency (more than a urge, actually) to try to read everything my favorite authors have written. Being David Ambrose one of the most excellent sci-fi writer, he couldn't be missing.
The first novel was extraordinary. It kept me glued to the pages since the beginning, enraptured by its thrilling premise and development. When part two (the confession, that is) started, it took me some time to understand who the evil character was. And, when I did, the discovery chilled me to the bone.
But that was not the end of it: what really left a mark on this breathtaking story were the paranormal elements, which continue to shock the reader until the very last chapters, catching him off guard as he never would have thought Ambrose had something more (and more sinister and jaw-dropping) in store for him. I literally loved it.
"Twisted" wasn't as spotless as "A memory of demons" (I felt like there were some plot holes), but quite enjoyable on the whole. The keys of its success were the short chapters, the frequent dialogues, the intriguing protagonists. Not to mention the culprit's identity, which came like a bolt from a blue and was even more surprising because the author threw me off the scent without even making use of the supernatural, masterfully diverting my gaze from the murderer.
"Coincidence", on the other hand, certainly didn't live up to the expectations raised by its predecessors. Despite being gripping enough to keep me of my toes most of the time, I found it unnecessarily philosophical, brimming with - and slowed by - tons of quotes about coincidences that sound all the same. Its ending was disappointing as well.
December 14, 2017
Gripping psychodrama.
May 16, 2020
Uncomplicated fiction, with things that happen to keep the story going. The kind that makes you wanna read and keeps you interested. A good read, but far from reality.
November 3, 2020
One of the worse books I've ever read. Absolute garbage
June 22, 2025
I guessed who it was, but it went on after with a nice twist, if unlikely
June 8, 2014
I have read the Dutch version called "Dubbelziel"
This is the Dutch review, i will translate it in English later .
Recensie : Dubbelziel –David Ambrose
Het is voor mij de eerste kennismaking met deze schrijver en met het “suspense” genre. De titel van het boek en de achterflap geven me een idee waar het over zal gaan . Het boek is het eerste deel in de Vintage mystery serie, dit zijn klassieke, nog niet eerder vertaalde mysteries en suspense verhalen van hoogstaande kwaliteit.
Het verhaal :
Het speelt zich af het heden, in de Verenigde Staten in een plaatsje dat Saracen Spring heet .De omgeving wordt omschreven als een rustig stadje .
Tom Freeman heeft een vervelende periode achter de rug tien jaar terug , hij denkt dat nu hij getrouwd is met Clare en een dochter heeft, zijn verleden van alcohol en drugs verslaving verleden tijd is. Als Julia, hun dochter twee is en gaat praten ,blijkt het kind zich steevast Melanie te noemen en ze beweerd ook andere ouders te hebben. Tom en Clare weten er geen raad mee en roepen professionele hulp in .Tom heeft tien jaar geleden een ongeluk gehad waar hij zich niet veel van kan herinneren, maar nu ineens krijgt hij erge nachtmerries over een meisje dat hij toen vermoord zou hebben en Melanie heet .Melanie wil wraak .Zou dit iets met elkaar te maken hebben? Julia lijkt wel door Melanie bezeten…
Julia lijkt baad te hebben bij de therapie en ruim vijf jaar lang is er niks aan de hand tot ze ruim 8 jaar is en tijdens een uitstapje weer over Melanie begint.
Ze krijgt wederom therapie van Brendan Hunt .Tom en Clare hebben er vertrouwen in dat hun dochter weer de oude word .Er wordt gedacht dat Julia de reïncarnatie van Melanie is maar de psychiater vind dit niet .
Tom neemt ook therapie voor zijn nachtmerries bij Brendan Hunt ,in de hoop dat ook hij verder komt met het verwerken van zijn verleden .Dit lijkt te lukken , maar op een gegeven moment moet hij om verder te komen met de verwerking van zijn ongeluk en de nachtmerries weer terugvallen in oude gewoontes. Dit komt allemaal door Melanie .Clare ondergaat alles ,ze is een goede echtgenote en moeder en steunt haar man en dochter onvoorwaardelijk.
Net op het moment dat je denkt dat het allemaal goed komt, krijg je een andere verhaallijn in deel 2 .Dit begint met een flashback en je denkt eerst “wat heeft dit er mee te maken “maar het blijkt zeer essentieel voor de rest van het boek Het beschrijft het verhaal van moordenaar van meerdere meisjes en de rode draad hiervan ligt in het verhaal van Tom en Julia/Melanie . Daarna volgt er nog drie delen waarin uiteindelijk het plot beschreven wordt . Het plot is zeer verrassend en zeker niet voorspelbaar.
De personages in het boek worden goed beschreven. Je kan je inleven in Tom ,zelf in zijn nachtmerries , die heel duidelijk beschreven worden en in Julia/Melanie .Ook de psychiater Brendan Hunt is een karakter waar je je zeker mee kan identificeren . Clare komt er wat bekaaid af , haar karakter is niet echt uitgediept terwijl zij nar mij idee een best belangrijk figuur is in het leven van Tom en Julia .
Het boek heeft 62 korte hoofdstukken ,leest lekker weg en blijft tot het eind spannend genoeg om in een keer uit te lezen .
Een aanrader , vijf sterren .
This is the Dutch review, i will translate it in English later .
Recensie : Dubbelziel –David Ambrose
Het is voor mij de eerste kennismaking met deze schrijver en met het “suspense” genre. De titel van het boek en de achterflap geven me een idee waar het over zal gaan . Het boek is het eerste deel in de Vintage mystery serie, dit zijn klassieke, nog niet eerder vertaalde mysteries en suspense verhalen van hoogstaande kwaliteit.
Het verhaal :
Het speelt zich af het heden, in de Verenigde Staten in een plaatsje dat Saracen Spring heet .De omgeving wordt omschreven als een rustig stadje .
Tom Freeman heeft een vervelende periode achter de rug tien jaar terug , hij denkt dat nu hij getrouwd is met Clare en een dochter heeft, zijn verleden van alcohol en drugs verslaving verleden tijd is. Als Julia, hun dochter twee is en gaat praten ,blijkt het kind zich steevast Melanie te noemen en ze beweerd ook andere ouders te hebben. Tom en Clare weten er geen raad mee en roepen professionele hulp in .Tom heeft tien jaar geleden een ongeluk gehad waar hij zich niet veel van kan herinneren, maar nu ineens krijgt hij erge nachtmerries over een meisje dat hij toen vermoord zou hebben en Melanie heet .Melanie wil wraak .Zou dit iets met elkaar te maken hebben? Julia lijkt wel door Melanie bezeten…
Julia lijkt baad te hebben bij de therapie en ruim vijf jaar lang is er niks aan de hand tot ze ruim 8 jaar is en tijdens een uitstapje weer over Melanie begint.
Ze krijgt wederom therapie van Brendan Hunt .Tom en Clare hebben er vertrouwen in dat hun dochter weer de oude word .Er wordt gedacht dat Julia de reïncarnatie van Melanie is maar de psychiater vind dit niet .
Tom neemt ook therapie voor zijn nachtmerries bij Brendan Hunt ,in de hoop dat ook hij verder komt met het verwerken van zijn verleden .Dit lijkt te lukken , maar op een gegeven moment moet hij om verder te komen met de verwerking van zijn ongeluk en de nachtmerries weer terugvallen in oude gewoontes. Dit komt allemaal door Melanie .Clare ondergaat alles ,ze is een goede echtgenote en moeder en steunt haar man en dochter onvoorwaardelijk.
Net op het moment dat je denkt dat het allemaal goed komt, krijg je een andere verhaallijn in deel 2 .Dit begint met een flashback en je denkt eerst “wat heeft dit er mee te maken “maar het blijkt zeer essentieel voor de rest van het boek Het beschrijft het verhaal van moordenaar van meerdere meisjes en de rode draad hiervan ligt in het verhaal van Tom en Julia/Melanie . Daarna volgt er nog drie delen waarin uiteindelijk het plot beschreven wordt . Het plot is zeer verrassend en zeker niet voorspelbaar.
De personages in het boek worden goed beschreven. Je kan je inleven in Tom ,zelf in zijn nachtmerries , die heel duidelijk beschreven worden en in Julia/Melanie .Ook de psychiater Brendan Hunt is een karakter waar je je zeker mee kan identificeren . Clare komt er wat bekaaid af , haar karakter is niet echt uitgediept terwijl zij nar mij idee een best belangrijk figuur is in het leven van Tom en Julia .
Het boek heeft 62 korte hoofdstukken ,leest lekker weg en blijft tot het eind spannend genoeg om in een keer uit te lezen .
Een aanrader , vijf sterren .
August 6, 2008
*Warning! This review contains spoilers!*
I think David Ambrose really blew it with this one.
Digging through my memory bank, I can't help but smile at the wittiness of his earlier novels, particularly 'Superstition' and 'The Discrete Charm of Charlie Monk'. There was an invisible border between the impossible and the improbable in these stories that David never dared to cross. Even in 'Coincidence' and 'The Man Who Turned Into
Himself' he kept the notion that there was a slight possibility of his theories to be true, a believability factor that although
strange was somewhat probable.
But in 'Memory of Demons' he crossed that border. His book is no longer exceptional. It quite resembles the countless other bedtime horror novels that one reads to fall asleep. In all honesty, I saw no difference between this work and the works of John Saul or Dean Koontz.
'Memory of Demons' evolves around the life of a recovering alcoholic called Tom and his young daughter Julia. The readers are ushered through an account in Tom's past where he may have committed a murder in an alcohol induced stage although this is unclear until the latter part of the book where the author reveals what truly happened.
At some point, Tom’s daughter becomes obsessed with the entity of another girl that had disappeared a number of year prior to Julia's birth.
After shuffling back and forth through Tom's immediate struggle with Julia’s transformation and his recurring dream of something that may have happened in some old house some years back (I know this sounds convoluted, but the book actually reads that way) the author reveals the identity of a killer and then by backtracking through the murderer's younger years, the readers find out what makes a killer a killer (phew, I actually finished that sentence). And, in like any bedtime novel, the author marries all ends into a beautiful knot of the all pleasant Hollywood ending.
Since this book is not published in the US, readers have to order it from overseas. The truth is, I don't think it's worth the international shipping costs and would not recommend it.
Sorry David, but I'm a bit disappointed in you this time.
-by Simon Cleveland
I think David Ambrose really blew it with this one.
Digging through my memory bank, I can't help but smile at the wittiness of his earlier novels, particularly 'Superstition' and 'The Discrete Charm of Charlie Monk'. There was an invisible border between the impossible and the improbable in these stories that David never dared to cross. Even in 'Coincidence' and 'The Man Who Turned Into
Himself' he kept the notion that there was a slight possibility of his theories to be true, a believability factor that although
strange was somewhat probable.
But in 'Memory of Demons' he crossed that border. His book is no longer exceptional. It quite resembles the countless other bedtime horror novels that one reads to fall asleep. In all honesty, I saw no difference between this work and the works of John Saul or Dean Koontz.
'Memory of Demons' evolves around the life of a recovering alcoholic called Tom and his young daughter Julia. The readers are ushered through an account in Tom's past where he may have committed a murder in an alcohol induced stage although this is unclear until the latter part of the book where the author reveals what truly happened.
At some point, Tom’s daughter becomes obsessed with the entity of another girl that had disappeared a number of year prior to Julia's birth.
After shuffling back and forth through Tom's immediate struggle with Julia’s transformation and his recurring dream of something that may have happened in some old house some years back (I know this sounds convoluted, but the book actually reads that way) the author reveals the identity of a killer and then by backtracking through the murderer's younger years, the readers find out what makes a killer a killer (phew, I actually finished that sentence). And, in like any bedtime novel, the author marries all ends into a beautiful knot of the all pleasant Hollywood ending.
Since this book is not published in the US, readers have to order it from overseas. The truth is, I don't think it's worth the international shipping costs and would not recommend it.
Sorry David, but I'm a bit disappointed in you this time.
-by Simon Cleveland
August 11, 2009
This is definitely a page-turner. I like Ambrose's writing style; the development of the story is fast-paced and it kept you guessing "Who's the murderer?". Apart from that, I like the way he fused some supernatural phenomenons into the story that brought even more suspense, for instance, that part where his little daughter, Julia insisted that her name is Melanie, a girl who had dissappeared about 10 years ago and all the happenings that revolved around her.
Well, to avoid spoilers, I should stop here. If this much captures your attention, I bet this book will do more than that! Happy reading!
Well, to avoid spoilers, I should stop here. If this much captures your attention, I bet this book will do more than that! Happy reading!
February 17, 2011
The theme - reincarnation of a murdered girl in a toddler's body, was interesting enough, and got me through the book in a few days, but I found the ending a little too silly and 'they all lived happily ever after'. An enjoyable read, but not one of his best.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews